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[CHALLENGE] Create a League Judgment - Mikoto, the Shrine Maiden

I've had this Champion around for a bit, but only recently did I get her lore to a spot that I liked. However, I'm now in need of an unofficial League Judgment for her.

You can go about this one however you want. I'll judge them as they're submitted. Touhou fans should like this one.

This is for Mikoto, the Shrine Maiden: http://na.leagueoflegends.com/board/showthread.php?t=1354758

Background

Quote:

The Ionian martial forms are known of from far and wide across Runeterra, from the ancient Wuju to the vibrant Hiten. Yet among them, there is one art form that, until recently, had long been thought to have vanished from Runeterra. Hidden in the mists of Ionia's southern mountains lies the ancient Kami Shrine, believed to have a deep connection with the spirit world. In the past, the shrine had been a place of pilgrimage for monks and priests of the ancient Kami Style, which had its roots in the spirit realm. Yet the shrine is presently abandoned, for reasons unknown. And for other reasons, also unknown, the shrine has recently found a new occupant: the spirit priestess Mikoto, now known to many simply as the Shrine Maiden.

Some claim to have known Mikoto before she became the Shrine Maiden of Kami. It is believed she used to be a simple farm girl who was forced to flee into the mountains during the Noxian occupation. What happened afterwards is unknown, but when Mikoto reappeared ten years later, none could tell it was the same girl, for her hair shifted between light and darkness, and magical spirits danced around her wildly. Accounts of her are mixed: some say she is a violent monstrosity, while others claim she is a saint. They are both true, for Mikoto's persona seems to shift at a whim between the two aspects.

Mikoto wasted no time after her reappearance to attack various Noxian occupation camps throughout the isles, seeking to bring the invaders to justice. Yet to her shock, Mikoto found herself confronted by the Kinkou, the preservers of balance, who halted her efforts. She was brought before the Convergence of Elders, who discovered that Mikoto had been possessed by an ancient spirit that had resided in the Kami Shrine. Unable to remove the spirit from her body, the Elders sent her to the Kinkou's sanctuary, in an attempt to have Mikoto obtain mastery over her own spiritual flux. Though an arduous process, Mikoto appears to have gained some semblance of control, yet the results are not yet clear. The Elders are dearly hopeful that Mikoto has indeed mastered the spirit within her, for she has recently come to the League of Legends, seeking to become an Ionian Champion.

This one is a perversion of balance - light and dark in seemingly equal amounts, yet a sea of chaos. - Shen, the Eye of Twilight

Character Details

Quote:

- Mikoto shifts between a "saintly" personality and a "devilish" personality depending on her polarity. This is due to the spirit that possesses her.

- Mikoto is meant to be an expy of Reimu Hakurei from the Touhou Project series. (Try not to include too many Touhou references; that could backfire.)

- Mikoto's outfit changes colors depending on her polarity; she's not a quick-change artist, but this happens magically due to her spiritual possession.

Appearance Artwork (this is the best I could find, but the colors are wrong) 306911
(while in her Yin state, she has dominant black colors; while in her Yang state, she has dominant white colors)

Ehhh... I was never a Reimu fan, Alice/Patchy and Marisa were always closer to me, as well as a couple of others

Though, I've been making a bunch of unwritten sets of fanfics in my head recently, involving specifically her among the other cast, so maybe. I'm at a grinding halt with my item thread at the same time too, though, so I dunno. I don't want to be a taker, and then come out with something subpar, so I'll wait a bit and see.

Another thing bothers me though, I've seen you around for quite a while now, and your champions as well - they're quite detailed and worked out, but somehow never really popular, and you were banned once too, iirc. Long story short, why do you keep doing this if this neither has an impact, nor is popular? No offense, of course.

Ehhh... I was never a Reimu fan, Alice/Patchy and Marisa were always closer to me, as well as a couple of others

Though, I've been making a bunch of unwritten sets of fanfics in my head recently, involving specifically her among the other cast, so maybe. I'm at a grinding halt with my item thread at the same time too, though, so I dunno. I don't want to be a taker, and then come out with something subpar, so I'll wait a bit and see.

Another thing bothers me though, I've seen you around for quite a while now, and your champions as well - they're quite detailed and worked out, but somehow never really popular, and you were banned once too, iirc. Long story short, why do you keep doing this if this neither has an impact, nor is popular? No offense, of course.

Call it a guilty pleasure of mine. I do it because I enjoy it as a hobby. I probably wouldn't make a career out of it, though.

Alright, seems everyone else here is wusslike, so I'll take your challenge. I hope you'll remember this moment when it's time to name your baby. We need more Lily-anns in the world.

---

OBSERVATION
To say that Mikoto heard voices in her head wasn't quite accurate. Not once had she ever heard a distinct word, or whisper, or string of nonsense that could, by liberal interpretation, be called some kind of language. What she 'heard' was the presence of the Kami Shrine Spirit. It was always within her, never giving her a moment's reprieve, and though this wasn't to say that it interfered at all in her efforts to eat or sleep, it was always there. In nearly every action she considered taking, especially against Noxus or other enemies of Ionia, she heard its wishes - its desires. Though she never heard a word, she could feel the spirit imposing its wishes upon her subconscious. Laying eyes on the enemies of Ionia, she could always feel it in the back of her mind.

Kill them. Kill them all. Spare no one. They will suffer at your hand. They must suffer at your hand.

Mikoto herself couldn't bring herself to agree with the vengeful bloodlust of her other half, but at the same time, after living her life and witnessing the brutality of the Noxian occupiers, she couldn't bring herself to truly disagree, either. And that's why, though she never truly 'let' the spirit gain control of her body, there were dozens of cases where she decided to stop resisting as much. And when that resulted in the spirit gaining control... Mikoto's pity and sorrow were matched by feelings of elation, feelings of the fact that justice had truly been served. When she saw the broken, twisted bodies of her opponents, their corpses partially melted, covered in burnt and cauterized blood, she wanted to weep and pray for them. But she couldn't. Her experiences, and her spirit half, refused to let her see that sight without feeling a rush of sadistic glee.

It was because of this that her own people felt she was a threat to the Ionian way of life. And it was because of this that she now quietly walked into the Great Hall, seeking to participate in the one spectacle where her mindset and abilities would be appreciated and desired in full, without reluctance.

JUDGMENT
Mikoto cowered under the table of her family's dining room, her mother holding her close. All around, they could hear the horrible sounds of war. The clatter of blades and staves clashing against each other, the dull thunks of shields doing their jobs, the sickening flicks of dozens of archer's bows letting loose their arrows... worst of all, the pained, tortured screams of the mostly pacifist citizens now forced into a futile line of defense for their homes.

How could Noxus do this? What was the sense of it? Ionia had a standing army, and yet, here Noxus was, launching a full on invasion of civilian towns. This wasn't a clash of army against army, this was a slaughter. And thanks to an allegiance with Zaun, it wasn't enough that families were being cut down by blade and arrow. The melters, and other biochemical horrors, were raining down on any pocket of resistance that stood even a theoretical chance against the unstoppable onslaught of the Noxian army.

Only the strong survive? There was nothing resembling strength in this kind of attack. This was sheer cowardice.

"It's okay, Mikoto, everything will be fine, I'm here." Her mother said, her voice quivering as she tried to put on a brave front for her daughter.

Mikoto's father had left ten minutes prior, with a kitchen knife tied to a broom handle, to join in the resistance. They had not heard from him since. Mikoto thought she heard a scream that resembled her father's voice, but she dared not think about it. She just scrunched into a tighter ball, cowering in her mothers' arms and failing to fight back the hot tears streaming down her face.

Suddenly, the house shook violently. A dozen thunderclaps seemed to ring out as part of the ceiling came crashing down. Part of the wall to their right collapsed, as well, exposing the room to the horrible battle outside. Mikoto risked a peek, and saw that a large wagon had crashed into the house, causing all this damage. It was scorched and smoking, seemingly from some sort of explosion that propelled it at such a velocity. A peek was all she could muster, and Mikoto quickly buried her face in her mothers' arms again.

But this comfort was no longer to be. Mikoto and her mother both heard the footsteps, and they both knew that this wasn't an Ionian. The steps were heavy and determined, climbing without fear over the wagon and rubble. Mikoto's mother thought they were hidden from plain view, but apparently, not well enough. Suddenly, the small table they were under was overturned by the intruder.

"Run, Mikoto, run!" Her mother screamed.

Mikoto cowered in her mother's arms, but when the hold was released, Mikoto across the room. She stopped and turned around, to face the scene.

The invader turned briefly to face Mikoto. Mikoto ran too fast to get a good look at her face, but she would always remember the long, red hair, the shapely female form adorned with blades, and the scar over the left eye...

Mikoto ran. Out the door to the left, out of the house, and onward. Over dead bodies, rubble, blasted landscape and scalding chemicals that burned her throat to this very day. By some miracle, she managed to escape. Up into the mountains, where the cool air made her throat even raspier than the Noxian biochemical horrors already managed to.

Mikoto didn't know how long she ran through this mountainous wilderness, but when she was finally sure of her relative safety, she fell to her hands and knees, in front of a shrine whose purpose she was not aware. She was exhausted beyond what any child should experience. Every joint and muscle in her body was in excruciating pain, overexerted and plagued by poison fumes. She had been crying for so long that it physically hurt to do so any more, but that didn't stop her. She pounded the ground, crying, and screamed for the mother that she knew was already dead.

She vaguely saw motion ahead of her, but she ignored it. Even if it was a Noxian soldier, she was too exhausted to do anything about it. As she wept, she saw the figure's feet slowly approach her. They were an unnaturally pure white, hazy around the edges, the finer details almost incomprehensible. In too deep in a pit of sorrow to feel any real fear, Mikoto slowly looked up at the figure, pushing herself onto her knees to look it in the eye. It was a woman, and her expression was not malicious, but that's all Mikoto could glean from this hazy, white figure.

"...what do you want?" Mikoto asked quietly.

Suddenly, the world around them faded to black, leaving only Mikoto and the figure standing in a black void. Mikoto was no longer a young girl - she was returned to her proper age and body, and the pain and exhaustion of the ordeal had vanished.

With no source of light to blur the image, against a pure black backdrop, the figure's features became clearer. But only just.

"Our enemy." The figure said, her voice echoing upon itself. However, even though she was speaking, her mouth did not move. "They are our enemy. They have ended our lives. We must end theirs. They are our enemy."

"ENOUGH!" Mikoto screamed.

Seemingly complying, the world shifted again... back into the Great Hall. The figure shifted too, into a cloaked man, standing in front of the large door Mikoto marveled at when she first entered this hall.

Remembering everything that led up to this point, Mikoto realized that it wasn't the figure in the memory that had said those things - it was the spirit in her own mind.

"Why do you want to join the League, Mikoto?" The man asked.

Mikoto paused to collect herself. She had relived that memory countless times, but never before had she experienced it so vividly. She had to fight back tears briefly, experiencing all those emotions that she prayed she'd never have to experience again.

"To maintain balance, in all things." Mikoto finally answered, her voice very flat and diplomatic.

The man said nothing. He barely moved, actually. He just continued to watch Mikoto, clearly expecting more from her before he made any kind of decision. Or perhaps he just didn't believe her at all. It was a pretty short and flimsy answer, after all. Mikoto looked at him, and relented, letting her real emotions shine through.

"My people consider me an aberration of our ideals." Mikoto said, somewhat sadly, looking down. "And I am, I can admit that. What I am is not what Ionia stands for. What... what we are is not what Ionia stands for. We are an instrument of vengeance, of righteous fury."

Mikoto looked the man in the eye.

"My only way to serve Ionia in a way they'll respect is to represent them on the Field of Justice." Mikoto continued. "This way, I can gain the trust of my people, and I can... we, we can exact vengeance upon the people who brought us years of torment and pain."

Mikoto felt the spirit fight to get a word in, and she relented, for but a moment.

"Noxians will suffer." Mikoto blurted, in a tone that was clearly not natural.

That was all the reprieve Mikoto gave the spirit. She fought and retook control.

The man shifted a little, seemingly signifying that that was all he needed for an answer. He said nothing for a moment, as he looked at Mikoto, almost piercing her with his stare. After an uncomfortable silence, the man spoke.

"You speak the truth." The man said. "How does it feel to expose your mind like this?"

Mikoto could feel her hands clench into fists. Not at the question, or the probing, but at the memory she was forced to relive in such cruel vividness. While the fire of her convictions had never been extinguished, it now burned stronger than ever.

"I'd relive that memory a thousand times if it helped end the horrors of Noxus once and for all." Mikoto said, her voice almost trembling. But she quickly collected herself, relaxing her hands. "No harm done, if that's what you're asking."

The man nodded, satisfied with that answer.

"Welcome to the League, Mikoto." The man said.

With that, he turned, opened the door, and walked away.

Mikoto exhaled deeply, not having realized how tense she was through that whole meeting. She glanced around the hall for a moment, before thinking over everything that happened.